in mid Wales, the Monks Trod byway was built to link two medieval abbeys and is now a wild and wonderful route for people seeking a little tranquility.Many lovers of the Trod say it will ruin the meditative nature of the route, while conservationists are worried it will put precious flora and fauna on protected sites at risk and damage the fragile, peat-rich landscape the path traverses – an important carbon store.
Describing Monks Trod as an “iconic medieval trackway”, the Cambrian Mountains Society expressed “intense shock and disapproval” at what it characterises as “paving” the route.it wrote: “Far from moving to protect the delicate heritage and natural environment of the Monks Trod, Powys county council is proposing measures guaranteed to lead to its devastation and that of the surrounding incredibly fragile peatland environment.
Powys county council says it is incorrect to say the Trod is to be “paved”. “The surface proposed is compatible with protecting the features of the landscape. This will not be a sealed surface, it will simply be a drier causeway across the wettest areas, with stone where that is needed to create a more durable surface.”